Absurd Person Singular: Further Reading

This page contains details of publications & articles relating to Absurd Person Singular. The information is for research & the website cannot provide copies of the articles listed.

Published Editions

Absurd Person Singular (click here to buy)
Samuel French Ltd, 1974, ISBN 0573010234
Three Plays (click here to buy)
Vintage Classics, 2010, ISBN 978-0099541639
Absurd Person Singular (North American edition)
Samuel French Inc., 1974, ISBN 0573605610
Absurd Person Singular (German edition)
Hirschgraben, 1981, ISBN 3454665701
Absurd Person Singular
Longman, 1989, ISBN 058201638X
Absurd Person Singular
Longman, 1991, ISBN 0582060206
Three Plays (Hardcover)
Chatto & Windus, 1977, ISBN 070112203X
Three Plays
Penguin, 1979, ISBN 0140481508
Three Plays (North American edition)
Grove Press, 1977, ISBN 0394170830
Three Plays (North American edition)
Grove Press, 1994, ISBN 9780802131577

For details of corrections to the Samuel French published edition of Absurd Person Singular, visit the Publication Corrections page.

Manuscripts (research & reference)

Original manuscripts for various early drafts of Absurd Person Singular are held in the Ayckbourn Archive in the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York. The manuscripts are accessible onsite for research purposes.

Reference Books

Paul Allen: A Pocket Guide to Alan Ayckbourn’s Plays
pp.26-29 (Faber & Faber, 2004, ISBN 0571214924)
Paul Allen: Alan Ayckbourn - Grinning at the Edge*
pp.135-139 (Methuen, 2001, ISBN 0413731200)
Michael Billington: Alan Ayckbourn (2nd Ed)*
pp.57-68 (Palgrave, 1990, ISBN 0333498976)
Michael Billington: State Of The Nation
pp.231-232 (Faber, 2007, ISBN 9780571210343)
Michael Billington: The 101 Greatest Plays: From Antiquity To The Present
(Faber, 2015, ISBN 9781783350308)
Bernard Dukore: Alan Ayckbourn*
pp.44-55, 103-113, 137-151 (Garland Publishing, 1991, ISBN 0824057597)
Albert-Reiner Glaap: Ayckbourn Country (2nd Ed)*
pp.33-34 (Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2004, ISBN 3884766783)
Michael Holt: Alan Ayckbourn*
pp.19-23 (Northcote Press, 1999, ISBN 0746308590)
Albert E. Kalson: Laughter In The Dark*
pp.94-96 (Associated Universities Press, 1991, ISBN 0838634796)
Oleg Kerensky: The New British Drama*
pp.118-120 (Hamish Hamilton, 1977, ISBN: 0241896282)
Simon Murgatroyd: Unseen Ayckbourn
(Lulu Books, 2023, ISBN 9781447761723)
Benedict Nightingale: An Introduction To 50 Modern British Plays*
pp.431-438 (Pan Books, 1982, ISBN 0330266799)
Benedict Nightingale: Great Moments In The Theatre
pp.153-154 (Oberon, 2012, ISBN 9781849432337)
Malcolm Page: File On Ayckbourn*
pp.26-30 (Methuen, 1989, ISBN 0413420108)
Stephen Unwin: A Pocket Guide to 20th Century Drama*
pp.196-200 (Faber, 2001, ISBN 0571200141)
Ian Watson: Conversations With Ayckbourn*
pp.72, 76 (Faber and Faber, 1988, ISBN 0571151922)
Sidney Howard White: Alan Ayckbourn*
pp.49-56 (Twayne Publishers, 1984, ISBN 080576870X)
* indicates out of print

Articles

Lines And Deadlines
Philip Oakes, Sunday Times, 3 June 1973
Alan Ayckbourn
Ronald Hayman, The Times, 4 July 1973
Revival Of Top Writer's Biggest Hit
Roy Martin, Yorkshire Evening Post, 13 March 1990
Alan Ayckbourn: The Joker
Nigel Farndale, Sunday Telegraph, 25 November 2007
How We Made: Absurd Person Singular
Maddy Costa, The Guardian, 19 March 2012
Could Alan Ayckbourn's Most Notorious Play Have Been Written Today?
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph, 22 June 2022

Reviews (world premiere)

Absurd Person Singular
The Stage, 6 July 1972
Scarborough
John Whitley, Sunday Times, 27 August 1972

Reviews (London premiere)

Sparkle In The Kitchen
Herbert Kretzmer, Daily Express, 5 July 1973
Serving Up The Laughs
Jack Tinker, Daily Mail, 5 July 1973
Black Fun Of Absurd Person Singular
John Barber, Daily Telegraph, 5 July 1973
Absurd Person Singular
Felix Barker, Evening News, 5 July 1973
Kitchen Capers
Milton Shulman, Evening Standard, 5 July 1973
Absurd Person Singular
B.A. Young, Financial Times, 5 July 1973
Absurd Person
Michael Billington, The Guardian, 5 July 1973
Trouble In Triplicate
Benedict Nightingale, New Statesman, 13 July 1973
Stage: Absurd Person Singular, A London Delight
Clive Barnes, New York Times, 3 August 1973
Kitchen Sink Farce
Robert Cushman, The Observer, 8 July 1973
Absurd Person Singular
Ronald Bryden, Plays And Players, September 1973
Theatre
Jeremy Kingston, Punch, 11 July 1973
Review Of The Arts
Kenneth Hurren, The Spectator,14 July 1973
Another Ayckbourn Success
The Stage, 21 June 1973
Devastating Images
Frank Marcus, Sunday Telegraph, 8 July 1973
Absurd Person Singular
Harold Hobson, Sunday Times, 8 July 1973
Absurd Person Singular
Charles Lewson, The Times, 5 July 1973

Reviews (London revival, 2007)

Absurd Person Singular
Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 12 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard, 12 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Michael Billington, The Guardian, 12 December 2007
The Dark Side Of Festive Frolics…
Paul Taylor, The Independent, 13 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Kate Bassett, Independent On Sunday, 16 December 2007
On London Stage, A Bruising Holiday Mix Of Despair And Cheer
Matt Wolf, International Herald Tribune, 18 December 2007
Touch Of Class In The Kitchen
Georgina Brown, Mail On Sunday, 15 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Susannah Clapp, The Observer, 23 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Lloyd Evans, The Spectator, 2 January 2008
Absurd Person Singular
John Thaxter, The Stage, 13 December 2007
Back Where He Belongs…
Tim Auld, Sunday Telegraph, 16 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Benedict Nightingale, The Times, 12 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
David Benedict, Variety, 12 December 2007
Absurd Person Singular
Michael Coveney, whatsonstage.com, 12 December 2007

Reviews (40th anniversary revival, Scarborough 2012)

Absurd Person Singular
Alfred Hickling, The Guardian, 12 July 2012
Absurd It May Be, But This Is A Supreme Revival
Charles Hutchinson, The Press, 14 June 2012
Revival Of A Classic Is Pitch Perfect
Sue Wilkinson, Scarborough News, 14 June 2012
Absurd Person Singular
Kevin Berry, The Stage, 21 June 2012
Plenty of Laughs, But No Rolling In The Aisles
Dominic Maxwell, The Times, 14 June 2012
Absurd Person Singular
Ron Simpson, whatsonstage.com, 14 June 2012

All research for this page by Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce without crediting the author and the website.